If you have the HE-6 and are having issues with sibilance, a better source and amp will help. But the cheapest fix will be the new ear pads. I have tried them with the HE-6 and it helps take a slight edge off the treble harshness of some bad recordings. jerg inspired design on these pads really make a difference there. That said, I've never really had an issue with the treble of the HE-6, in fact it's one of my favorite features.

I had tried a lot of DAC, AMP and finally stay with eximus dp1 and ef6. I think they're pretty good and satisfy me enough. In my system most headphones that have the best details are also have sibilance problems (HD800, PS1000, HE6) except Abyss which has incredible details without sibilance. May be it's because Abyss produce less distortion. I think LCD3 and X have no sibilance because they are less details and more forgive.

If he560 has less distortion than He6 (and ps1000, hd800), it should has less sibilance.Edited by chirawatf - 3/28/14 at 8:33am

On topic, I'd venture a guess and say the 560 would pair up best with warmish amps?

Audio-GD stuff sounds ideal to me... always. Except the sabre ES9018 equipped ones which I found very neutral. Hope they got the Wolfson dac setups back in stock.Edited by Mad Lust Envy - 3/28/14 at 8:41am

I had tried a lot of DAC, AMP and finally stay with eximus dp1 and ef6. I think they're pretty good and satisfy me enough. In my system most headphones that have the best details are also have sibilance problems (HD800, PS1000, HE6) except Abyss which has incredible details without sibilance. May be it's because Abyss produce less distortion. I think LCD3 and X have no sibilance because they are less details and more forgive.

If he560 has less distortion than He6 (and ps1000, hd800), it should has less sibilance.

It's not that simple...sibilance is a complicated issue, it's due to a combination of upper mids / treble FR, distortion, ringing (which is largely independent of distortion), and the music. Just having more or less distortion isn't enough to determine anything.

Frank, I don't have any experience with the WA5 but you said it's a pretty transparent amp. Do you happen to have any tubey amps with a good amount of current?
I'm actually very excited to hear about a pairing like this. Too bad dubstepgirl went solid state because she couldn't drive her beloved 6 out of her even more beloved tubes. This might be her headphone.

Jerg, you havent yet commented on the HE-560 vs the HE-400 which you own. How does they're bass compare in terms of speed, tightness, thump, extensions, and finally you're preference. Also other aspects like soundstage, air, mids and the like.

I'm strongly considering either the HE-560 or HE-400i, but I'm not sure the HE-560's tonal balance is to my liking. I'm hoping the HE-400i will be a little darker than the HE-560 and have bass closer to the HE-400 in terms of presence.

I had tried a lot of DAC, AMP and finally stay with eximus dp1 and ef6. I think they're pretty good and satisfy me enough. In my system most headphones that have the best details are also have sibilance problems (HD800, PS1000, HE6) except Abyss which has incredible details without sibilance. May be it's because Abyss produce less distortion. I think LCD3 and X have no sibilance because they are less details and more forgive.

If he560 has less distortion than He6 (and ps1000, hd800), it should has less sibilance.

The Abyss was measured before, and it does have significantly more distortion than the LCD-3 and especially the HE-6 particularly in the bass measurements.

Jerg, you havent yet commented on the HE-560 vs the HE-400 which you own. How does they're bass compare in terms of speed, tightness, thump, extensions, and finally you're preference. Also other aspects like soundstage, air, mids and the like.

I'm strongly considering either the HE-560 or HE-400i, but I'm not sure the HE-560's tonal balance is to my liking. I'm hoping the HE-400i will be a little darker than the HE-560 and have bass closer to the HE-400 in terms of presence.

Well, it obviously has to be different enough [much like the 560 is] from the 560.

Remember they're discontinuing practically all their other full-size planars [minus the HE-6].

You can probably count on the 400i being noticeably different in comparison with the 560.

I am not sure either but since I have pre-ordered the 560, I don't have the luxury of doubting my decisions anymore :D

But I'll be still very curious about the 400i and what'll comes out of it...